Living Without... A Television

Unless you've made the move to a wall-mounted flat screen, we're willing to bet that the television could be one of the biggest recreational appliances in your home (or maybe you're rocking an air hockey table). We felt somewhat proud for living without ours for so long, but we've come to realize that TV-less homes seem to be becoming the norm. If you want to go without yours, here are some tips and tricks that have helped us.

1. Our first tip for living without a TV is to change your watching habits. When we first got rid of ours, we had to break the habit of coming home to turn on the TV. Now, we spend more time exercising, talking to each other, cooking, reading, and even cleaning. We increased our direct "family time" dramatically when we dropped the TV. Weekends are no longer spent whiling away in front of PBS; instead, we're out exploring our community together. Not bad!

2. Friends who know we don't have a TV often say that we're awfully well-informed despite our TV-less lifestyle. It's true, and here's why: we watch everything on the Internet. Thanks to sites like Hulu.com and Netflix, we're able to keep up with current shows and movies, which are normally posted online a day after they air. In essence, our computer now pulls double-duty.

3. And finally, look to your friends for help. We turned to a couple of our buddies to watch sporting events (big games really aren't that exciting a day later), and soon got into a fun potluck routine. This worked out great: it's like carpooling, but with a television. We got to spend quality time with our friends, watch something we could all enjoy, and eat good food together.